It was apparent this weekend that Utah State and Air Force did not deserve bids based upon their own performance and their conference performance. Cincinnati, Hofstra, Missouri State, Creighton, or Florida State all would have been better choices.

Thursday, March 16, 2006

We ended up correctly picking 62 out of the 65 teams in the tourney field. We missed Utah State, Air Force and George Mason. We correctly seeded 31 teams and we got 50 teams within one line of their seed. To see how we stacked up against the competition go to http://bracketproject.atspace.com/comparison.htm/.

We were the best site out there in terms of seeding. Our biggest regret with this bracket was taking out George Mason, who we had in the whole last week, and replacing them with Hofstra on Sunday. We placed too much stock in the Skinn suspension and not enough in the fact that their AD was on the Selection Committee. Maybe when we saw Lunardi change his bracket just before the selection show to include George Mason we should have changed ours as well. I think it's safe to say that he got some inside information and made that change.

We have expressed our thoughts about the Selection Committee through our comments this week so we won't go into that anymore. But basically they gave bids to conferences rather then teams.

As for the Tourney itself Chris and Craig both believe that UConn, Duke, Villanova, and UCLA will make the Final Four with Duke and UConn meeting in the Final and UConn winning it all. To see our whole bracket just go to the ESPN tourney challenge group once the tourney starts this afternoon.

Thanks to everyone for a great year. We'll still be updating the site periodically in the coming weeks as the Tourney progresses.

Sunday, March 12, 2006

Final Bracket Reasoning....-Seton Hall's big road wins put them over the top for a bid.-Michigan gets left out because of their bad finish. A major reason for their poor finish was injuries but even with Abram back against Minnesota they still lost.-Hofstra gets the nod over George Mason because of their two late season wins against them and because of Skinn's suspension. It was also tough to put Mason in ahead of Creighton since they lost at home to them by 20.-Creighton's losing 4 out of their last 6 kept them out of the field.

Bracketology 101 will host a live chat Sunday from 1-2 p.m. ET. Stop by to discuss who's in, who's out, who's seeded where, and who will be sweating it out the most as the hours tick down to the Selection Show.

Saturday, March 11, 2006

Bubble BreakdownHere is how we see it. There are 4 spots up for grabs still. We think Texas A&M, Bradley, Cal, NC State, and Alabama are all safe. The teams we have in that we would not be shocked if they are left out are Cincinnati, Missouri State, Seton Hall and George Mason. The only teams they can be replaced by in our mind is Michigan, Hofstra, and Creighton (or South Carolina, Utah State, Nebraska, or Wake Forest if they win their conference tourneys). San Diego State is a major wild card right now. They have a chance at an at-large should they lose tonight and it would be a very tough call. We think Missouri State and Cincinnati are relatively safe right now and it is highly unlikely that we would take them out of the bracket. After that you have Seton Hall and George Mason. It's not too hard to make a case for Michigan or Hofstra to be in the bracket over them. Michigan has had a lot of injuries down the stretch which has been a major impact on their bad finish. George Mason's situation with Skinn being suspended for a game is a major factor as well. So as we evaluate things further there is a possibility we would take out Seton Hall or George Mason for Michigan or Hofstra and possibly Creighton by the time our final bracket comes out tomorrow afternoon. Let the debate continue...

Friday, March 10, 2006

Saturday's GamesMemphis 57, UAB 46Tigers have #1 seed locked up no matter what happens with Texas and Ohio State.

Albany 80, Vermont 67Danes lock up the auto bid from the America East.

South Carolina 65, Kentucky 61Bubble teams will be glued to the screen on Sunday hoping the 'Cocks don't steal their bid.

Texas 74, Texas A&M 70Good effort out of the Aggies which was all that was necessary for them to feel safe tomorrow.

Florida 81, LSU 65Gators hope that the third times the charm against South Carolina.

Boston College 85, UNC 82Tar Heels can forget about that #2 seed.

Xavier 62, St. Joseph's 61Great finish to this one as the Musketeers grab the A-10's auto.

UCLA 71, California 52Not a good showing for Cal, but just the fact they were in this game made them safe.

Kent State 71, Toledo 66Top-seeded Golden Flashes take the MAC.

Syracuse 65, Pittsburgh 61Orange wrap up the biggest Cinderella story in Big East tourney history.

Southern 57, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 44Jaguars grab a bid and a spot in the Play-In Game...

Hampton 60, Delaware State 56...against Hampton, who shocked top-seeded Delaware State to win the MEAC.

Nevada 70, Utah State 63 (OT)And the bubble rejoices.

San Diego State 69, Wyoming 64Bubble teams breathe easier again, as do Chris and Craig. The bracket would have been that much harder to make if the Aztecs would have lost this one.

Friday's GamesWake Forest 82, North Carolina State 71Wake continues their out-of-nowhere run, beating N.C. State for the second time in a week. The free-falling Wolfpack back into the Dance on a four-game losing streak.

Indiana 61, Wisconsin 56Hoosiers aren't only safe, they played their way out of the 8-9 game.

Kentucky 68, Alabama 61Kentucky sures up their bid, while 'Bama picks up its 12th loss. They're still in because of their good wins in conference (LSU, Tennessee, Florida, Kentucky, Arkansas), but their bad finish means they might be a double digit seed tomorrow.

St. Joseph's 73, Temple 59 & Xavier 70, Fordham 59Hawks and Musketeers will battle it out for the auto out of the A-10. The two teams split during the regular season.

Syracuse 58, Georgetown 57Just another night at the office for Mr. Overrated.

UAB 63, UTEP 60Blazers would have been an interesting case had they lost this one. With the win, they're safe for good.

San Diego State 63, UNLV 60Aztecs have an easy road left a bid with Air Force and BYU out, but they almost gave it all away in this one. There's a lot of talk out west about SDSU being safe regardless of what happens in the final. We beg to differ so they better take care of business against Wyoming tomorrow.

Pittsburgh 68, Villanova 54Impressive win for the Panthers, and a potentially very costly loss for Nova (Ray).

Michigan State 61, Illinois 56Are the up-and-down Spartans peaking at the right time?

Boston College 80, Maryland 66Enough with all the Maryland scenarios. They're done.

UCLA 71, Arizona 59Wildcats can only manage one tourney win without Adams.

Nebraska 69, Oklahoma 63Disappointing loss for the Sooners will hurt their seed slightly. Huskers could cause some real chaos with a couple more wins.

Florida 74, Arkansas 71Just when you though the Gators were ready to hang it up this year they come out and win a couple tough games.

Cal 91, Oregon 87 2OTThe Bears are a lock now and bubble teams can breath easier now that the Ducks are done.

Utah State 68, Louisiana Tech 64Aggies will be playing for the NCAA tourney life against Nevada in the WAC final since their at-large profile probably won't get them a bid.

Big East TourneySyracuse vs. UConnThe Orange were not even competitive with the Huskies during their two regular season meetings, but if the Orange can pull off the upset here they would be in the field of 65.

Pittsburgh vs. West VirginiaThis rubber match is a battle for a top 4 tourney seed.

ACC TourneyWake Forest vs. Florida StateThe ACC homers think that the Seminoles are automatically in since they ended up 9-7 in conference play, but FSU must win this one to get a bid.

Georgia Tech vs. MarylandThe Terps are still on the fringe of the bubble and will need at least 2 wins in tourney play to have a shot at a bid.

Pac-10 TourneyStanford vs. ArizonaA win for the Wildcats would make them a lock (which may be tough without Adams).

USC vs. CalAs long as the Bears can avoid the upset here then they can feel safe come Sunday.

Other Conference Tourney MatchupsTemple vs. George WashingtonGW will have to try to earn the auto bid without Pops, which gives A-10 teams a great chance to pull off the upset and steal a bid.

SMU vs. UABBlazers need to make it to the championship game to really feel safe.

Minnesota vs. MichiganWe think if the Wolverines can pick up the W here they can feel safe on Sunday even with their poor finish.

Mississippi vs. KentuckyAs long as the Wildcats can avoid the upset here they are a lock.

Big East TourneySyracuse vs. CincinnatiOrange need 2 wins to have a shot at a bid. The Bearcats may be in win or lose, but a win here makes them a lock.

Rutgers vs. Seton HallPirates may be in as well win or lose. A win here makes them a lock. They wouldn't want to lose this one though and add another head scratching loss to their resume for the committee to mull over.

Conference Championship GamesMonmouth at Fairleigh DickinsonTwo Jersey schools battle it out for the Northeast Conference Championship.

Montana at Northern ArizonaBig Sky championship pits the pre-season favorite Grizzlies up against the regular season champ Lumberjacks.

Monday, March 06, 2006

Conference Championship GamesWestern Kentucky vs. South AlabamaThe two best teams in the Sun Belt square off for the automatic. Hilltoppers won the overall conference title, and beat UAB earlier in the year, but aren't at-large worthy if they lose.

Oral Roberts vs. Chicago StateYup, that's 11-18 Chicago State looking for one last miracle against the top-seeded Golden Eagles.

Wisconsin-Milwaukee vs. ButlerPanthers have been the pick in the Horizon all along, but have struggled of late. Can second-seeded Butler sneak in and grab a bid?

Wake Forest 76, N.C. State 63Wolfpack's seed continues to fall as they lose to the last place Demon Deacons.

Mississippi State 71, Alabama 58Bad loss for the Tide, they can't afford another one in the opening round of the SEC tourney (Georgia or South Carolina is their likely opponent).

Southern Illinois 55, Northern Iowa 46 OTSIU-Bradley championship was the only chance for the MVC to get 6 bids and that's what they got. Missouri State and Creighton fans cannot like this result though because if the conference doesn't get 6 bids then one of those 2 teams will be the first one to get the axe. It will be tough making a bracket tomorrow because of this result.

Washington 70, Arizona 67That's eight in a row for the Huskies as their seed keeps climbing.

George Mason 61, Georgia State 56The bracket would have gotten a whole lot messier if Mason blew this one.

South Florida 63, Georgetown 56Bulls' lone Big East win was a shocker, and will knock the Hoyas down a notch.

California 71, USC 60Bears are the ultimate "bubble" team right now. This past week's results have made it imperative they make a deep Pac-10 tourney run.

Hofstra 72, VCU 66Pride take care of business and now must beat Mason again to stay alive for a bid. A concern for the three CAA hopefuls still playing: The Colonial has not received more than one bid to the Dance in 20 years. With big conference teams getting the wins they need lately, 3 from the CAA is looking less and less likely.

Memphis 69, Houston 62Cougars blew a big first half lead, and couldn't get the marquee win they desperately needed.

Colorado 84, Iowa State 82Buffs are lost in the shuffle right now. They need to make some major noise in the Big 12 tourney.

North Carolina 83, Duke 76Tar Heels ruin Senior Night at Cameron and continue their tear. UNC, incredibly, is looking like a 3 seed, and will likely be a lot of people's "sleeper" in the tourney.

Villanova 92, Syracuse 82Devastating lose for the Orange. 7-9 in Big East will not get it done. Need at least one win in Big East tourney to even get consideration now. Two wins will get them back in the field.

Florida 79, Kentucky 64Gators stopped the bleeding some with a nice road win. Wildcats just need to avoid an upset in the opening round of the SEC tourney and they are a lock.

Florida State 67, Miami 64Seminoles will lock up a bid with a win over Wake in the first round of the ACC tourney.

Southern Illinois 59, Bradley 46The MVC tournament played out perfectly for the conference, with Southern Illinois - the team most on the bubble going in - winning it all. Right now, the MVC is a five-team league, with Creighton looking like the odd team out. By the way, is it against the rules to break 60 in this conference?

Maryland 71, Virginia 70Terps aren't dead yet, but they'll need at least two wins in the ACC toruney to get in the conversation.

Texas 72, Oklahoma 48Impressive win for the Longhorns, who lock up the Big XII tourney's top seed.

Hofstra 58, George Mason 49Hofstra still needs to beat Wilmington in the final to get a bid. The Colonial hasn't earned an at-large bid in two decades: Will Mason break that streak? It'll be a long week for the Patriots.

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